Pop Icons v. Ensigns

Pop culture has always been something that I’ve thought of as lasting about 30 seconds. This reading however, begged to differ. I never really thought of myself as one who bought into pop culture, but I must concede that I have been influenced by pop culture, though somewhat indirectly. I was a pretty athletic kid growing up, I loved to play flag football, basketball, kickball, foursquare, steal the flag, and—above all—soccer. I have a wonderful love for the beautiful game. This love led me to icons such as Mia Hamm, a very important icon for female soccer players, and Nike. While I wore predominantly Adidas cleats, Nike was the brand that inspired me, particularly their motto: Just do it. This motto has greatly influenced my life, particularly in improving myself, not just in sports, but also as a human being. Challenges and fears, which are Paralyzing, can be overcome by Just do(ing) it, moving, exercising active faith. Active faith is such a key and powerful component in life. We can theorize and tell ourselves we have faith all we want, but until we are tested, we’ll never know, and we will never become a faithful person. I suppose that the Nike motto, for me, has become a representation of exercising active faith in Heavenly Father and His Son, our Savior. Not that Nike ever had that particular goal in mind, when they set out with Just do it, but that is what it has come to represent and inspire in myself. When thinking of all of this, I am reminded of Moroni’s Title of Liberty. I think that as Artists, particularly LDS Artists, we have been blessed with amazing truth, light and knowledge, and we therefore have a responsibility in our art, our “icons”—or better yet, our Ensigns—to glorify God. We have amazing knowledge and will be blessed in our talents as we seek to glorify God and do His will. This doesn’t limit us to LDS art, etc. look at what I’ve learned from Nike. The key is operating, creating, with the Spirit. The Spirit testifies of Jesus Christ and teaches truths (see 1 Cor. 12 and Doctrine and Covenants 84:45-47). I don’t mean to get all soap-boxy, but I think that we have amazing opportunities to be missionaries and messengers of Christ in a world that is swiftly losing hope and light. It’s a wonderful calling, a whole lot of trust in us, and a great responsibility.